HYAT - 14

Bit you.

Bit you…

Bit you?

How he bit her... Shen Qianzhan knew perfectly well.

A strange feeling of shame shot straight from her feet to the top of her head.

Shen Qianzhan retracted her finger, which had already tapped “accept,” as if she had been electrocuted, flinging her phone away as if fearing a contagious disease.

Did heaven make her meet Ji Qinghe just to make her deeply understand how profound and all-encompassing the Chinese language truly was?

She grumbled, pulled back the covers, and lay down, ready to sleep.

It was 1 AM, and her beauty sleep had already shrunk by a third.

The moment she closed her eyes, the bedside lamp glowed dimly like a firefly, dotted with starlight, making her eyelids feel slightly warm.

From the hallway, boisterous sounds of travelers returning late at night, oblivious to the hour, buzzed and roared through the door.

Shen Qianzhan opened her eyes in annoyance. Outside the floor-to-ceiling window she faced, a crescent moon hung in the sky, shining with the stars.

She watched for a while, then propped herself up on an elbow, reaching for the phone caught in the bed crevice. As she switched to WeChat, she reassured herself: It’s fine, it’s fine. This isn’t bowing down or compromising to dark forces; it’s just for survival and making a living.

Shen Qianzhan accepted Ji Qinghe’s friend request in one go and then went to label him.

The label was simple; she deeply felt that Ji Qinghe didn’t even deserve the two characters for “man,” so she directly picked a dog head emoji from the system’s input method and pasted it there.

After doing all this, she finally felt relieved. After letting out a long breath at the moon, she extinguished all the lights in the room and finally slept soundly.

________________________________________

Shen Qianzhan slept until late morning, feeling tired and weary.

She rubbed her sore lower back and first reached for her phone on the bedside table.

Qiao Xin had invited her to breakfast at 8 AM, but she had been deep in slumberland, unaware, let alone able to respond.

She glanced at the time at the top of her phone screen.

Good, she hadn’t woken up too late, just in time for lunch.

She got up, Browse messages.

After clearing her Moments and message list, still not seeing Ji Qinghe, she raised an eyebrow and subtly pursed her lips.

After the speculation of “Is the scoundrel too embarrassed to initiate contact or too arrogant, waiting for her to say hello first?” churned in her mind several times, she brushed her teeth, changed clothes, and called Qiao Xin to go out for a meal.

The main task of this business trip was complete. Shen Qianzhan told Qiao Xin to check flights after dinner, preparing for their return.

“We need to see a screenwriter on the 20th, and have dinner with the director on the evening of the 22nd,” Qiao Xin said, scrolling on her phone while eating, “Sister Zhan, so shall we take the plane back to Beijing tomorrow noon? We have no plans for tomorrow, only need to see the screenwriter the day after. Since there’s no rush to go back, let’s schedule it more relaxed.”

Shen Qianzhan disliked worrying about trivial matters the most. What Qiao Xin said went in one ear and out the other; she didn’t process it at all: “You just arrange it.”

Qiao Xin began to mumble about calculating the time from the hotel to the airport. When the background music in the restaurant switched from a cheerful melody to a somber one, there was a brief silence of a few seconds.

Shen Qianzhan heard her little planner muttering, “Sister Zhan won’t wake up before ten, supervising Sister Zhan packing luggage will take an hour, checking for forgotten items about ten minutes, moving luggage about ten minutes. Optimistically, assuming we can depart before checkout at twelve...”

Shen Qianzhan: “...”

She put down her chopsticks, about to defend herself, when her phone on the table vibrated slightly, and a message came in.

She seemed to have a premonition. With an elegant and relaxed posture, she took a tissue to dab her lips, then slowly slid open the WeChat message.

It was from Su Zan.

—Sister Zhan, when are you coming back?

Shen Qianzhan rolled her eyes. She hadn’t seen him inquire so diligently normally. Why did all these monstrous annoyances appear when she didn’t want to see them?

Just as she was about to put down her phone, the phone rang; an unknown number was calling.

Shen Qianzhan answered casually, giving a clear, cold “Hello,” her displeasure as obvious as Beijing’s December chill. It seemed mild, but only when it hit you head-on did you realize it was a dagger hidden in a smile, skinning and stripping you bare.

The other end paused, then after a two-second delay, asked: “Who’s provoked you?”

Shen Qianzhan’s finger, stirring her coffee, paused. She was stunned.

She looked at the unfamiliar phone number on her screen, recalled the familiar voice she had just heard, and her heart seemed to skip a beat.

“Ji Qinghe?”

Shen Qianzhan raised an eyebrow: “Where did you get my number?”

“Su Zan gave it to me,” the voice on the other end was clear and gentle, “When are you coming back?”

Shen Qianzhan glanced at Qiao Xin, who was still calculating departure times, and stood up to take the call in the hallway: “Haven’t decided yet, something wrong?”

She was calm, but Ji Qinghe was even calmer: “Meng Wangzhou’s clock collection association has an event on Friday. He wants to invite you to participate.”

Shen Qianzhan’s expression instantly fractured a little. She really wanted to ask Ji Qinghe if his first call to her from a thousand miles away was for such a trivial matter.

But rationality told her to hold it in.

Who knew if it was another trap Ji Qinghe had laid.

She counted the days on her fingers; tomorrow was Friday.

According to Qiao Xin’s plan, they would fly back to Beijing tomorrow noon, definitely not enough time.

Shen Qianzhan rubbed her throbbing temples, asking: “What kind of event?”

Ji Qinghe: “Going to the Forbidden City Clock Exhibition Hall.”

Shen Qianzhan scoffed: “The Forbidden City’s clock exhibition hall, I’ve been there four times already.”

Ji Qinghe subtly upped the ante: “I will provide explanations. Tomorrow, there will also be a collection clock from the Qing Dynasty, Qianlong period. It’s on loan from the Nanjing Museum for touring, just arrived in Beijing from Xi’an, and will only be displayed for a week.”

Shen Qianzhan remained unmoved: “Then I’ll still have time if I go back the day after tomorrow.”

The other end fell silent for a few seconds, then suddenly changed the subject: “Is Producer Shen aware of the reputation infringement caused by your company’s artist to me?”

Here it comes, here it comes. The retaliation, the settling of scores after the fact, has finally arrived.

Shen Qianzhan braced herself and replied: “I’ve vaguely heard about it, but I’m just a small producer. If Mr. Ji wants to know how the company handled it, I suggest you call the public relations department or artist management directly.”

Ji Qinghe gave a lukewarm “Mm” and then asked: “Then, from Producer Shen’s personal perspective, do you have any remedial measures for this crisis that caused the breakdown of our cooperation?”

Shen Qianzhan was caught off guard. She held her phone, her back unconsciously straightening a bit: “When did we cooperate...”?

Before the last word landed, Shen Qianzhan suddenly realized and stopped herself in time.

She replayed Ji Qinghe’s last sentence several times, confirming she hadn’t misunderstood, then her eyes widened in disbelief: “Mr. Ji?”

Ji Qinghe gave a soft “Mm,” his low final tone like a kite set free, pulled by his voice, creating a pond of spring water in Shen Qianzhan’s heart. Then it floated gently, swaying gracefully all the way.

Ing.

Happiness came a bit suddenly.

Shen Qianzhan cleared her throat, about to unleash her full-level flattery to give Ji Qinghe a comprehensive eulogy and baptism. But just as the words reached her lips, the experience accumulated from years of scrambling suddenly made her surging heart still as a dead pool.

Something’s not right.

Things shouldn’t be that simple.

Shen Qianzhan looked at the receding waterline outside the window, instantly sobered. She deliberated, then asked softly: “Are you and Xiang Qianqian really together?”

Ji Qinghe was silent.

Shen Qianzhan waited a few seconds, then slowly added: “Otherwise, you look like you’re rushing to compensate me, and my conscience is really bothered.”

Ji Qinghe seemed to let out a laugh.

Through the phone, though she couldn’t see his expression, Ji Qinghe’s cold laughter, mixed with disdain and mockery, felt substantial, pouring over her.

Even across a thousand miles, though kings wouldn’t meet kings, Shen Qianzhan still felt the immense oppressive low pressure through her phone.

She touched her cold nape, vaguely feeling... that Ji Qinghe’s hard-won agreement to cooperate was about to fall through again.

In the nick of time, out of a producer’s keen crisis response, Shen Qianzhan immediately retorted: “I think this matter is too important and requires a face-to-face discussion. Wait for me, I’ll be back tonight.”

Her response was the cold click of the phone hanging up on the other end.

Shen Qianzhan blinked. Did he agree or not?

________________________________________

Tickets for evening flights back to Beijing were sold out, so Qiao Xin could only sadly book a high-speed train for 7 PM.

The originally relaxed and leisurely schedule, which even allowed for sightseeing, suddenly became tight. The two rushed back to the hotel to pack their luggage. Fortunately, this business trip wasn’t long, and Shen Qianzhan didn’t have much luggage.

By the time they checked out and left, there was still ample time.

Su Zan, learning from Qiao Xin that Shen Qianzhan was suddenly returning to Beijing, was very surprised. He calculated the time and sent a message to Shen Qianzhan, who was already on the train: “Sister Zhan, care for a fifty-cent chat?”

Shen Qianzhan replied: “No, minimum charge five dollars.”

The next second, Shen Qianzhan received a red packet from Su Zan for two hundred dollars: “Then let’s chat for forty rounds.”

Since the other party was so sincere, Shen Qianzhan didn’t hold back: “I received a call from Ji Qinghe. He asked me if I had any remedial measures for this crisis that caused the breakdown of our cooperation...”

Su Zan’s shock was palpable: “!!!”

He asked: “I scrutinized the question three times with my diamond-encrusted titanium alloy dog eyes. Mr. Ji agreed to cooperate?”

Shen Qianzhan tapped the armrest and replied: “Mm.”

Su Zan: “Then you’re rushing back to sign the contract?”

He was about to add another “Congratulations, congratulations, little master can lie down and collect dividends again next year,” but before he finished typing, Shen Qianzhan replied: “No, I’m rushing back to confess my sins.”

Su Zan: “???”

Why does life have to be so full of ups and downs?

Compared to him, Shen Qianzhan was much calmer. She said: “I asked him if he was with Xiang Qianqian and decided to cooperate to compensate me.”

Su Zan was a little desperate. He typed furiously: “Compensate what, Mr. Ji?! Don’t even mention that he has no relationship with Qianqian. Even if there was compensation, it should be you compensating him!”

Shen Qianzhan was confused, slowly typing a question mark.

“The one who scammed him into bed was you, right?”

“The one who slept with him seven or eight times, over and over, was you, right?”

“The one who packed up and left after sleeping was you, right?”

“Tell me, aren’t you a scumbag?”

“What does Mr. Ji gain by investing and acting as a consultant for a scumbag like you?”

Shen Qianzhan really wanted to reply, “Maybe he gains good sleep,” but it was too direct, and she was a little shy.

She was thinking about what to reply to boost morale when the “typing...” indicator in the chat box disappeared, and Su Zan replied: “However, your situation now is especially like an after-sales dispute.”

“The seller says that once the goods are out, they are not responsible. The buyer wants to extend the shelf life.”

“Ji Qinghe is the buyer, you are the seller.”

Shen Qianzhan sent a bloody “Where’s my knife?” emoji.

Su Zan rested his chin on his hand, concluding with great concern: “Based on a man’s intuition, I think Mr. Ji has ulterior motives for you. My Sister Zhan’s romantic escapades might just end up under this great man.”

Shen Qianzhan read Su Zan’s sentence twice.

She was very dissatisfied with Su Zan’s use of the phrase “under him”: “Why am I the one ‘under’?”

Su Zan: “No, are you two that intense?”